Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider had some shocking things to say about George Springer
Photo credit: Toronto Star
Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider was on Sportsnet's Blair & Barker show yesterday and had some very interesting things to say about George Springer.
Springer came into the season on a massive low as he could not figure out how to hit the ball in Spring Training but has since completely turned things around so far to start the season.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider speaks on George Springer's swing
Springer has been on fire at the plate to start the season which many believe has a lot to do with hitting coach David Popkins as he has help many players such as Andres Gimenez in just a few months.
As of right now, 8 of 13 balls that Springer has hit through the first 7 games of the season have been hit at 95MPH or harder which is a massive jump from last season.
How well is George Springer hitting the ball right now?
8 of the 13 balls (61.5%) he's put in play through 7 games this season have been hit hard (95 mph or harder), including today.
Big jump early on from his 38.2% hard-hit rate from 2023-24. #BlueJays
8 of the 13 balls (61.5%) he's put in play through 7 games this season have been hit hard (95 mph or harder), including today.
Big jump early on from his 38.2% hard-hit rate from 2023-24. #BlueJays
Schneider stated on the Blair & Barker show that the reason that Springer struggled so much in Spring Training is that he was making some big adjustments to his swing that his body needed to get used to which it looks like he has finally adapted to.
John Schneider was on Blair & Barker today prior to the game and had some VERY interesting things to say regarding George Springer's hot start.
This is Schneider's full answer in response to Barker's question
"George spent the entire spring trying to fine tune his mechanics. He changed a few things in his lower half, I think what we unlocked halfway through camp was allowing his body to work the way it *can* work because he kinda got away from that last year, and what that means is, and this is gonna sound weird, when he's turning around 97 and hitting it 109, there's certain things that his body does, and Pop/Lou/Hunter are very aware of that, they've showed him exactly what that looks like when he's moving correctly, and clearing his mind to say 'George, every AB you're getting off one A swing, and if you miss it you miss it, then you gotta battle. So, he's kind of fine tuned his mechanics, and understands what pitchers are trying to do to him, it's sinkers in and sliders away. So just, having him be on the attack and getting his A swing off rather than being passive and trying to just put the ball in play has worked really well for him thus far."
This is Schneider's full answer in response to Barker's question
"George spent the entire spring trying to fine tune his mechanics. He changed a few things in his lower half, I think what we unlocked halfway through camp was allowing his body to work the way it *can* work because he kinda got away from that last year, and what that means is, and this is gonna sound weird, when he's turning around 97 and hitting it 109, there's certain things that his body does, and Pop/Lou/Hunter are very aware of that, they've showed him exactly what that looks like when he's moving correctly, and clearing his mind to say 'George, every AB you're getting off one A swing, and if you miss it you miss it, then you gotta battle. So, he's kind of fine tuned his mechanics, and understands what pitchers are trying to do to him, it's sinkers in and sliders away. So just, having him be on the attack and getting his A swing off rather than being passive and trying to just put the ball in play has worked really well for him thus far."
This is incredible news for the Blue Jays because this is the type of offense they need from a player they are paying $25 million per season.
This almost seems like a bonus since no one including probably the staff expected Springer to be hitting so well this season.
It is hard not to look directly at David Popkins when seeing all these players hitting so well when they all struggled last season.
